


Even If I Dream

by EmbryonicHarmonic



Category: Gundam 00, Tales of Xillia
Genre: 00htori, Crossover, Fluff, Gen, utena au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-15 07:18:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7213120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmbryonicHarmonic/pseuds/EmbryonicHarmonic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Setsuna offers Ludger a way out of these duels, and the answer is not what he was expecting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even If I Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dancingassassin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingassassin/gifts).



> Little thing for dancingassassin, who keeps writing me wonderful things.

Setsuna was…

A different person.

After the duel, he had, as the rules decided, moved in with Ludger. He wasn’t this cold, quiet doll that Ali could use and attack anymore. No, he was changing, slowly returning to the person he used to be, if only because Ludger said he could be himself. It was nice to smile again, to be warm and friendly. Even if it was an adjustment, trying to explain the rules of the game to Ludger when the other obviously didn’t really want to be a part of it, Setsuna was… 

...well, ‘happy’ wasn’t the right word. He wasn’t _supposed_ to be happy anymore, but Ludger made a very heavy argument to actually be happy. 

He thought about it idly, standing in the kitchen of their now otherwise-empty dorm. The rules of the game, it was only the two of them in the entire building now. Ribbons had done what he was supposed to. 

“Ludger.” Setsuna finally said, looking over at the other student as he grasped plates for their dinner. No longer empty. No longer feeling hollow. “Have a seat, I’ll finish up.” 

“Are you sure?” Came the response, that Setsuna felt like he was expecting. Maybe braced for. He simply nodded, smiling softly. There was a lot he needed to talk about. He finally had the ability, to speak and explain the game in the best way, along with how to leave the game if Ludger no longer wanted to participate. There was no sense in making someone duel if they did not wish to, though he did wonder why Ludger had a rose seal. 

He waited, of course. It wasn’t polite to discuss the duel over curry. It was nice to not have to cook alone, and to just be able to enjoy the world again. Did Ludger understand how much this actually meant to him? Guilt rolled over his thoughts. He wasn’t _supposed_ to matter. He wasn’t _supposed_ to feel anything but his duty and his role. He was supposed to be empty. Hollow. A doll to be played with and discarded.

That was what Ribbons had told him.

“You can always lose a duel, you know.” 

It came out as their plates were clean and dishes were being done. Setsuna hadn’t planned, but he knew now that he had to continue. Ludger glanced over at him, blinking once or twice before Setsuna continued.

“The duels are played for one reason and one reason only: to unlock the Castle Where Eternity Dwells, to revolutionize the world.” He heard this over and over, from Ribbons. From the Council. From everything. Even his nightmares cemented that this was what he was made for. “Only those chosen, someone with the rose seal ring like you have, may play these games, but they’re dangerous. Even when they end, I don’t know what is going to happen.” 

Knowing Ribbons, it was nothing good.

“I know you didn’t intend to get drawn into this. You stepped in when no one else could, and I am grateful for that. But you don’t have to continue if you don’t want to. All you need to do is lose a duel, and you’ll be freed from this.” Setsuna looked at the dishwater, staring at his reflection as it was draining. He reached over and grabbed a towel, starting to dry his hands. 

“But what happens to you?”

Setsuna looked up, eyes large. No one had asked that. No one had ever considered that. He wasn’t supposed to be something that was given any care and thought. Was this why Ludger was allowed to be a part of the duels? Because he was something different? 

“If I lose, do you go back to him?” Ali. “And what happens to you when this is over? What part are you in all of this? It can’t just be to hold a sword and move in with everyone.”

Setsuna was not prepared. He had been sure that Ludger wanted out of this game, and that there would be plans to lose to Tieria or maybe Neil and he could wash his hands of everything. But this was unexpected. 

“If you lose, I’ll return to the Council, to whoever you lost to.” Dishes set to dry, he walked with Ludger back up towards their room. “I… I am the vessel that holds the power to revolutionize the world. The power everyone is fighting over. But I don’t know what will happen when the duels are done.”

An arm wrapped around his shoulder as they made it back to their room, and he found himself returning Ludger’s smile. 

“I’m not going to lose, Setsuna. I’d rather put up with this weirdness and these duels than let you go back to Ali. You’re your own person, not something to be fought over.” Was there a sadness in Ludger’s voice? Setsuna couldn’t tell. “Now come on, I know you’re behind on your English homework.”

Setsuna felt a weight lift from him, and he smiled as the two of them sat down to work. This had not been what he had expected, but maybe sometimes things worked out for the better instead of for the worst. 

Maybe now, things would be okay.


End file.
